One of the most recurrent and controversial subjects of nineteenth–century discourse was work. Many thinkers associated work with honest pursuit of doing good, not the curse accompanying exile from Eden but rather “a great gift of God.” Sincerely undertaken work comprised a mission entailing a commitment to serve others and promote a better future for all.

“Useful to students and scholars alike—and to general readers—this book uses literature to address the respectability of honest toil, the exploitation of the working class, child labor, and 19th–century work that was all too often oppressive and spiritually enervating.”